PRESS RELEASE
A stunning milestone in heritage craft
Kuala Lumpur; July 29 – Malaysian heritage craft crosses another milestone today with the invention of SongtikÔ. The inaugural series of Songtik is a limited edition of exquisite shawls, some of which are custom made and one of a kind.
The PINK JAMBU Songtik Shawls is a showcase of highly skilled craftsmanship and the undeniable beauty and charm of these traditional crafts. To revive these ancient crafts, Pink Jambu and Royal Terengganu Songket have worked hard to make Songtik relevant to the fashionista of today by using contemporary yarns, colour palettes, prints and motifs.
“Each shawl is like a canvas. I paint a story on it with melur, kenanga and cempaka motifs.” says Tengku Marina, the design force behind Pink Jambu. These works of art are laboured over for 600 hours each, every step meticulously and lovingly crafted by hand. “We did a lot of experimentation with the yarns and weaving methods to get different effects on each songket piece.” says the Textile Design and Production Director from Royal Terengganu Songket who is also Deputy Dean at the Faculty of Applied and Creative Arts at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak.
Not only does this project inject new life into these heritage crafts, but Royal Terengganu Songket (a heritage brand under Yayasan Tuanku Nur Zahirah) devotes itself to preserving the Malaysian heritage craft of songket, to provide a sustainable income for Malaysian artisans and to enable young Malaysians to continue the culturally defining tradition of weaving songket.
The launch event was an intimate event at the Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur. In attendance was Duli Yang Maha Mulia Seri Paduka Baginda Permaisuri Tuanku Nur Zahirah, the patron of Yayasan Tuanku Nur Zahirah.
ABOUT SONGTIK - A UNION OF TWO HIGH CRAFTS
SONGTIK, a term coined by PINK JAMBU and ROYAL TERENGGANU SONGKET, marries two quintessential Malay high crafts - songket and batik, into one unique and artistic creation. This idea developed in the mind of Tengku Marina after she created a unique fashion ensemble combining her batik and a piece of songket created by Royal Terengganu Songket.
Her vision was a shawl made of songket and batik would and could for all practical reasons, go beyond just fashion apparel and be designed for the fashion sensibilities from New York to Mumbai. Songtik is also beyond craft – it is a wearable work of art.
CREATING A PRECIOUS SHAWL
For each PINK JAMBU SONGTIK Shawl, Tengku Marina will create a batik piece to tell a story inspired by the cultures and heritage of the world. To make PINK JAMBU SONGTIK Shawl a truly precious possession, there will never be another similar batik creation in the world. PINK JAMBU offers bespoke service for the batik creation, catering to the unspoken and discerning needs of an individual. Tengku Marina and her team would be spoken to by you where you would tell your story and they will create a batik immortalising your cherished moments or romantic sentiments.
To achieve her vision, Tengku Marina together with Dr. June Ngo, the textile design expert at Royal Terengganu Songket set forth some revolutionary design principles for this project through the choice of colours, the motif designs, the placement of the motifs, and the choice of yarn.
While traditional songket feels heavy and stiff, PINK JAMBU SONGTIK Shawl shall be soft and plush. While the colour of traditional songket is ostentatious and rich, the colours of PINK JAMBU SONGTIK Shawl shall be contemporary. While the motifs and its placement of the traditional songket are repetitive and cluttered, PINK JAMBU SONGTIK Shawls shall be fluid and minimalist.
600 HOURS
600 hours are lavished to make one piece of PINK JAMBU SONGTIK Shawl. From the dyeing of the yarn and fabric, fine weaving of the songket and drawing of the batik to the stitching of the shawl, everything in a PINK JAMBU SONGTIK Shawl is lovingly and meticulously crafted by hand.
THE COLLECTION
The inspiration drawn from Bunga Melur (jasmine sambac), symbolising purity, Bunga Kenanga (ylang ylang), the seductress and Bunga Cempaka (champaca), representing healing, have made them part of a range of ceremonies and healing practices, across many different cultures. These ceremonies have inspired the stories told on our PINK JAMBU SONGTIK Shawls.
PINK JAMBU IN COLLABORATION WITH ROYAL TERENGGANU SONGKET
Tengku Marina, the design force behind PINK JAMBU, is renowned for her signature contemporary designs. With minimal prints and fluid strokes, she plays with distinctive and harmonious colour palettes. The technique she chose to express her designs was batik, at once shifting the trend from traditional designs that are more structural and elaborate.
Tengku Marina understands ROYAL TERENGGANU SONGKET’s passion through her own passion for batik. The highly skilled craftsmanship that goes into producing each songket piece is on par with the mastery and detail that goes into each of Tengku Marina’s batik creations.
For more information please contact:
Pink Jambu: Brand & Communications Director: Tengku Eliza Ibrahim
E: teliza@pinkjambu.com; M: +6017 206 4740; www.pinkjambu.com
Royal Terengganu Songket (heritage brand under Yayasan Tuanku Nur Zahirah)
Media Manager: Haanim Bamadhaj
E: haanim@yayasantnz.org; M: 012-232-0515; www.yayasantnz.org |
